Shallow wade fishing trip yields a big catch

Get used to it. Avoid it. Stay inside. Or work around it.

Most of the fish we caught were keepers. This one caught by Bradley Boegner measured about 24 inches.$RETURN$$RETURN$

INGLESIDE - It's just wind.

Get used to it. Avoid it. Stay inside. Or work around it.

Some anglers spend their lives complaining about wind and blaming it for ruining their fun or foiling their success instead of figuring out ways to outwit its relentless nature. I've certainly done my share of this. That goes double for springtime in the Coastal Bend.

Plans had been set for more than a week before last Sunday's outing. You know what they say about the gods laughing when fools plan. Well when it comes to fishing it's even more foolish to stick with a plan when Gale, the wind goddess, sneers.

Chip Harmon knows this well. So he planned a predawn visit to our intended destination bayfront only to be disappointed by whitecaps and chalky conditions typical of Nueces Bay during a 25-mph southeast wind.

The veteran guide had been on big trout in the reefy urban bay for a while, but only when the tide was green. Shallow wading was the key.

But during a murky chop those fish either leave, retreat to depths or simply don't bite. Regardless, it's a wasted day in miserable conditions.

I got a simple straightforward text message from Harmon at 5:38 a.m. Sunday.

"Ingledide," it read.

OK so he misspelled Ingleside. Blame it on texting in the dark or big fingers on a tiny keyboard. Or blame it on the two bullets he took as a young officer while fighting drug runners on two separate occasions with the Border Patrol. OK that's a stretch, but how else was I going to tell you about Harmon's colorful past? Nobody shoots at him anymore. Today he's the staff fishing guide at Ron Hoover RV & Marine.

I knew what he meant.

It meant my morning commute to the launch would be a little longer. It also meant the water would be about as green as the Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day. How fitting on the actual feast day. Much of the bay near Ingleside is nearly always that way.

And because we wanted to catch trout, Harmon had invited Bradley Boegner, an accomplished chaser of big specks, who has learned from some of the best. Along with Boegner's vast angling knowledge, which he carries humbly, he brought his Haynie Low Sides, a 23-foot skiff made for wade fishermen.

As the sun brightened the bay it became apparent this day also was made for wading. Plan B was the right choice, it seemed.

If you look at this northern section of Corpus Christi Bay where Ingleside on the Bay sits you'll see why. A pair of barrier islands and the natural curvature of the mainland offer protection from winds of every direction.

Breezes were out of the south-southeast for us.

Finding a place to wade is fairly easy here along the La Quinta Channel. Your choices are somewhat limited in this narrow wind-protected stretch of water. Obviously you cannot wade the deep channel itself, where anglers catch monster black drum this time of year. And either side features a stair-step drop-off with dramatic depth changes. I stay away from those.

That leaves the shorelines. Either the mainland bank or the spoil banks along the backside of those protective islands. Boegner first chose the mainland bank north of Donnel Point (on a Top Spot map).

Surprisingly the bottom is fairly firm here, with stretches of seagrass and plenty of contours underfoot. All of these features can serve as structure to attract baitfish or to hold the predators that chase them. The tide was about normal, not too high and not unusually low.

There was not a tremendous number of obvious surface baitfish, but enough, we thought, to spur optimism in these ideal trout waters. Turns out perch were there too.

Never mind the looming presence and activity of nearby tanker docks, platform construction sites, industrial plants and dredging operations. Yes, it's a busy place these days.

Unfortunately, our opening wade of the morning did not produce the kind of busy we had hoped for. No bent rods. So we moved to another mainland shoreline with similar features, showing a reluctance to abandon our hunch that trout were in green seagrass shallows near deepwater access. The textbook says so.

Harmon continued to scratch the surface with a topwater plug between using a Houston-made Thunder Tail Mullet soft plastic by Chickenboy Lures (chickenboylures.com). Generally, tossing a topwater plug is a good way to locate fish when bays are about 65 degrees or warmer. If fish are there, especially trout, they'll usually slap at a rattling plug. Harmon got not a single blowup.

We found higher concentrations of more active baitfish at this spot and at the next. But Boegner had only a ladyfish to show for our efforts.

"I know a redfish spot," Boegner eventually chimed.

In the language of some big-trout chasers, Boegner's thinly veiled suggestion to switch strategies would be the equivalent of crying uncle. I strongly disagree with this way of thinking. Going with what nature gives me is a far cry from declaring defeat.

I came to catch fish. And I'm willing to accept most any species without whiskers that is willing to stretch my line.

We headed to the backside of La Quinta Island, which is not its official name I don't think. But it's the largest spoil island along the channel north of Ingleside before you get to Portland.

The outside of this island features a firm bottom with contours, typically a good wading spot for trout. It also can be a good summer spot for soaking croaker while anchored.

The Port of Corpus Christi is in the middle of extending the La Quinta Channel toward Nueces Bay, which also will extend the spoil island. So dredge activity there makes the outside virtually unfishable now, particularly on windy days.

Anywhere along the island's protected backside can be a good alternative. But the bottom is soft in certain spots, making it difficult to wade. Other spots feature firmer bottoms with seagrass and a cordgrass fringe along the bank. Locals know this area as a go-to redfish spot.

And it became our second Plan B of the morning.

We targeted a skinny finger of the island at its uppermost point, which provides a lengthy and comfortable wade with a firm bottom. Patches of dark seagrass interrupt large yellow sand pockets with broken shell and scattered riprap. Be aware that near the tip is a deep gut that'll float your cap if you're not careful. Best to stay near the bank.

We spent the next two hours in thigh-deep water, yanking redfish from a warmer, shallower tide compared with the opposite side of the channel. I think the textbook says something about this too.

Another note of caution. In addition to a rising tide this area is subject to dramatic water level fluctuations because of nearby tanker traffic. So don't rely solely on a Power-Pole to anchor an abandoned skiff while wading. Unless, of course, you're confident the wind direction is such that an untethered boat will drift safely to your wade spot.

Apparently Boegner possesses such confidence.

David Sikes' Outdoors columns run on Thursday and Sunday. Contact David at 361-886-3616 or sikesd@caller.com. Following him on Twitter @DavidOutdoors.